Stam: “We dictated the game in parts”

30 July 2016

Royals boss reacts to an impressive second half display against the Cherries

Boss Jaap Stam stood in the dugout for the first time on Friday night and could take plenty of positives as well as a few lessons from a performance that earned his side a 1-1 draw against Premier League opposition.

“The second half was a lot better than the first half,” he began after a meeting with Eddie Howe's Bournemouth. “Not that we didn’t play well first half – but we didn’t press the opponent well enough early on.

“And communication-wise we needed to improve in terms of who was going to pick up who in midfield…we didn’t do that well and that allowed them to pass it through our midfield too easily.

“At half time we spoke about it and how to set things right, and as I say it was a lot better second half. We were very compact in there, the spaces were very small and there wasn’t a lot of space for them to pass the ball through.

“And when we won it we kept possession well, unlike in the first half when we gave it away too early because we wanted to go forward too fast.

“We tell the players every day to keep patience and eventually the opponent will get impatient and spaces will open up for you to pass the ball through and create your chances.

“In the second half we got the goal and created a few more chances - it was good to see. The opponent had difficulty in pressing us continuously and we dictated the game in parts – that’s always good against a Premier League side like Bournemouth.”

“So now we’ve got a friendly game at the training ground on Saturday with the ones who didn’t play tonight, then a day off on Sunday. And then next week starts and the preparation for the first game against Preston!”